A long line snaked through the ICCU Arena basketball court as people lined up to meet the speaker and have their books signed, the excitement palpable.
For the fiftieth anniversary of the Women’s Center, bestselling author Ijeoma Oluo spoke on race and intersectionality this past Wednesday.
Intersectionality was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw to describe the interworking of different liberation movements within and alongside each other.
“I was given a language to understand my experiences on that campus, and even in my classroom.” Oluo said. “That is important, first and foremost, because one of the most valued tools of oppression is to deny us the language with which to describe us.”
Oluo explained that the intention of intersectionality is for it to be a practice within different liberation movements.
“There is not women’s liberation without Black liberation,” Oluo said. “There is no women’s liberation without indigenous liberation. There is not women’s liberation without disabled liberation.”
Oluo also spoke about how, as white people, the audience must be aware of the white patriarchy “testing for tolerance” against different racist and sexist policies.
“When women of color were forcibly sterilized in U.S. prisons, up into the 80’s and early 90’s, they were testing for tolerance. I mean that when disabled people were sterilized, and denied the right to raise their children, they were testing for tolerance,” Oluo said. “(and) they’re still testing us for tolerance. When university faculty and staff are being told not to educate or advise about reproductive healthcare, or provide contraceptives to students, you are being tested for tolerance.”
When it comes to intolerance, Oluo also maked a point about what hatred really is.
“Hatred is just what fear looks like on defense” Oluo said.
Oluo ended the speech with an ask for the audience to come together.
“This is not a moment where I ask us to set aside our differences,” Oluo said. “This is a moment where I ask us to dig into our differences so they can come together.”
When facing the difficult topics she addresses in her work, Oluo quoted a friend who does direct action in her hometown of Seattle on how they keep hope.
“It’s really important to know what your definition of success is, and that it be something you can touch and feel at every point,” Oluo quoted.
Abigail Spencer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ABairdSpencer